Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down

by J. E. Gordon

Overview

In a book that Business Insider noted as one of the "14 Books that inspired Elon Musk," J.E. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose.
For anyone who has ever wondered why suspension bridges don't collapse under eight lanes of traffic, how dams hold back-or give way under-thousands of gallons of water, or what principles guide the design of a skyscraper or a kangaroo, this book will ease your anxiety and answer your questions. J. E. Gordon strips engineering of its confusing technical terms, communicating its founding principles in accessible, witty prose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786730353
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	04/08/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	520
File size:	20 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

J. E. Gordon, formerly a professor at the University of Reading, was renowned for his research in plastics, crystals, and new materials.

Table of Contents

1 The structures in our lives — or how to communicate with engineers.- One The difficult birth of the science of elasticity.- 2 Why structures carry loads — or the springiness of solids.- 3 The invention of stress and strain — or Baron Cauchy and the decipherment of Young’s modulus.- 4 Designing for safety — or can you really trust strength calculations?.- 5 Strain energy and modem fracture mechanics — with a digression on bows, catapults and kangaroos.- Two Tension structures.- 6 Tension structures and pressure vessels — with some remarks on boilers, bats and Chinese junks.- 7 Joints, fastenings and people — also about creep and chariot wheels.- 8 Soft materials and living structures — or how to design a worm.- Three Compression and bending structures.- 9 Walls, arches and dams — or cloud-capp’d towers and the stability of masonry.- 10 Something about bridges — or Saint Bénezèt and Saint Isambard.- 11 The advantage of being a beam — with observations on roofs, trusses and masts.- 12 The mysteries of shear and torsion — or Polaris and the bias-cut nightie.- 13 The various ways of failing in compression — or sandwiches, skulls and Dr Euler.- Four And the consequence was….- 14 The philosophy of design — or the shape, the weight and the cost.- 15 A chapter of accidents — a study in sin, error and metal fatigue.- 16 Efficiency and aesthetics — or the world we have to live in.- Appendix 1 Handbooks and formulae.- Appendix 2 Beam theory.- Appendix 3 Torsion.- Appendix 4 The efficiency of columns and panels under compression loads.- Suggestions for further study.

Editorial Reviews

"It is really, really good if you want a primer on structural design."—Elon Musk

"Rich and readable...personal, witty, and ironic."—Scientific American

"Here we have the conversation in the unbuttoned mood of a learned engineer with wide sympathies about his art, its history, its range, and the silly things which happen. It reads easily and has immense charm."—Architect's Journal

From the Publisher